1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surgical spinal positioning frame for use in positioning, supporting and securing a patient in a desired position for a surgical procedure. A lumbar laminectomy surgical procedure, for example, is both complex and delicate. Complications such as excessive bleeding from epidural veins, injury to retroperitoneal blood vessels or tearing of spinal nerves is always possible. Prior to the development of the surgical spinal positioning frame of the present invention, patients being prepared for such spinal surgical procedures have been placed face down, with a major portion of the patient's weight supported by the abdomen. Resultant abdominal pressure has caused excessive loss of blood and excessive blood at the operation site, obscuring the surgeon's field of vision. Blood loss during a spinal operation is a function of the degree of interspinal venous engorgement, or whether the blood vessels are full and under pressure or have been allowed to drain. If adequate room is provided to accommodate the abdomen of the patient without exerting excessive pressure, then draining naturally occurs. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device for correctly positioning, supporting and securing a patient for a spinal surgical procedure, without exerting excessive pressure on the patient's abdomen.
It is typically desirable to support a patient prior to a spinal surgical procedure in a manner such that the spine is convexly curved. The exact curvature desired depends on the location and type of procedure to be performed. Prior to the present invention, there have been no devices available which allowed a surgeon to position a patient with the correct curvature and then X-ray to locate exact coordinates before beginning surgery. Proper positioning is crucial to the identification of damaged vertebrae. Further, prior art devices have not allowed X-rays to be taken immediately after completion of surgery, to check and document the quality of the procedure, until after the patient has been lifted and moved by operating room personnel to a gurney. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a safe and efficient means to precisely position, support and secure a patient during spinal surgery which is X-ray compatible to facilitate exact location of surgical coordinates and to check and document results of a surgical procedure without moving the patient.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 2,764,150 which issued on Sep. 25, 1956 to J. J. Ettinger et al., the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference, discloses a surgical spinal positioning frame which has been employed in surgical spinal procedures for many years. The Ettinger frame has been found to suffer from several drawbacks. First of all, the device is not X-ray compatible. Accordingly, X-rays can not be used to locate surgical coordinates or to check and document the results of a surgical procedure, without first moving the patient from the spinal frame. Second, the device is manually operated by a hand crank, and is thus rather slow, difficult and cumbersome to manipulate. Third, the particular mechanical mechanism employed by the Ettinger frame has proved rather unreliable. In addition to requiring frequent and expensive repairs, the device has frequently failed in an elevated position during surgical procedures, forcing operating room personnel to manually lift patients from the elevated frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,152,734, which issued on Apr. 4, 1939 to C. H. Ford, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference, discloses a similar frame for supporting patients during spinal surgical procedures.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,152,734, which issued on Jul. 14, 1931 to W. J. Miller, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference, discloses an operating table including a ball and socket pivot mechanism for enabling patients to be positioned in selective angularly adjusted positions for various surgical procedures.